Bernie & The Brit Take on Peter King, Kathy Griffin, Libya, and Free Speech

Before unleashing her on Bernard, Imus asked Imogen Lloyd Webber to clarify what exactly she does for a living. “Media content,” she said, providing the occupation listed on her visa. Which means she writes, does some television appearances, and, having just moved to New York a year ago, learns about American culture.
 
Asked for his job description, Bernard was decidedly blunt. “I ride your coattails,” he told Imus.
 
Though events in Japan made it a strange morning to incite ugliness between two otherwise nice people, Imus tried anyway, asking Imogen, who is British, her thoughts on Rep. Peter King holding hearings on the radicalization of Muslims in America.
 
“I sort of have a problem with Mr. King himself,” she said. “He supported terrorists for years, and he justifies this because these terrorists didn’t attack American soil.”
 
Referring to King’s outspoken backing of the Irish Republican Army, or IRA, Imogen continued, “I’m not for one minute going to defend what Britain was up to in many countries in the world, including Ireland,” she said. “But at the same time, terrorism is wrong. I almost got killed by an IRA bomb.”
 
Imogen has no problem with King as a person, she said, or with the hearings per se. “I just don’t believe he’s the right man for the job.”
 
Bernard predictably supported King, his homeboy, by pointing out that the IRA never attacked the United States, and that King’s responsibility, as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in the House, is to investigate what is a growing and potentially lethal problem in this country.
 
“If he didn’t do it, and we had an attack, people would say, ‘What were you doing, Peter King? Sleeping on the job?’” Bernard said.
 
Imus suspected that little new information emerged from the hearings, but Bernard insisted King put homegrown Islamic radicalism “out in the open” yesterday by highlighting that U.S. mosques frequently cover up illicit, radical behavior.
 
Being “the new girl” in town, Imogen is admittedly still learning about American politics, and her observation of Congressional hearings, thus far, is that the people holding them “often go in wielding a sledgehammer.” She added, “It all becomes about the soundbyte, and not getting to the crux of the problem.”
 
Even more crucial to mankind, however, is the battle between comedian Kathy Griffin and 16-year old Willow Palin, Sarah’s daughter. Earlier this year, Griffin vowed to take down Willow because she used the word f*ggot on her Facebook page. Imogen condemned both sides, saying that while Griffin should not be targeting a teenager, Sarah Palin should not be exposing her children to the extent she has.
 
“President Obama just had a conference yesterday on bullying,” Bernard jumped in. “Now you have this 50-year old, life on the D-bag list alleged comedian attacking a 16-year old, bullying a 16-year old?”
 
Kind of like how rebels in Libya are trying to bully Muammar Gaddafi, the longtime leader they want removed from power after more than 30 years. “The least Obama could have done was bomb the runways,” Imogen said, conceding that with the Middle East, the attitude tends to be “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
 
She and Bernard agreed that providing aid or weapons to Libyan rebels without knowing much about them is also a dangerous route. “We don’t have money to be getting involved,” Bernard said. “Europe gets oil from Libya. Let them take advantage of it.”
 
Finally, the Supreme Court last week granted the Westboro Baptist Church the right to conduct their heinous demonstrations at military funerals on the grounds of freedom of speech. It’s a right Imogen said must be protected, no matter how callously it is used.
 
Bernard, on the other hand, is struggling with the decision, and likened the Supreme Court to a computer, in that they don’t seem to “feel things.” He added, “But it’s hard to argue against free speech.”
 
A right Imus promptly took away from Bernie and Imogen, until next time.
 
-Julie Kanfer